November has flown by so quickly that I have to stop and think about what we actually did this month. After we all had a bout with the stomach virus, we have entrenched ourselves firmly in holiday traditions. Garrett graduated out of the preschool Thanksgiving program, but Paige entered it this year. So, last week found us all waiting with camcorders and cameras in hand as 50 preschoolers timidly took the stage.
To my surprise, Paige was actually quite unfazed by all the unfamiliar people staring at her, and performed most of the songs happily. She was distracted a few times by the child behind her who was stealing the decorative turkeys off the side and "dancing" them around the stage. Ahhh, three year-olds! The program was cute, and we enjoyed her "feast" of chips and sandwiches afterwards.
Garrett also made headlines by losing his top front tooth. He has lost both bottom front teeth already, but both were quickly replaced by adult teeth. This is the first time he has really had much of a gap, and being on the top has made it even more obvious. We all got a laugh out of his first few lisping attempts to say "this feels funny" without a front tooth.
Last week we also packed up and headed out to Tucson for Dave's annual bike race. He rode on Saturday, while the rest of us visited the T-Rex Museum with Tina and the cousins. I use the term "museum" lightly. The website touted it as a "scientist-led museum", where kids would get to learn from real paleontologists. Well, that was true, however, the absent-minded scientists running the place need a little image makeover. The entire museum was no bigger than my house, and was piled from floor to ceiling with fossils and knick-knacks. Our "tour guide" wore frayed shorts, a faded T-shirt, and flip-flops that were coming apart at every seam. I was a tad skeptical, but the kids actually had a fabulous time. After a short lecture on the "evolution" of dinosaurs, we got to the main attraction - the activities! The kids got to get in a large pool of sand and brush away the dirt to reveal a fossil underneath, they got to gold-pan for stones and little keepsakes, they used a brush on the "Magic Mountain" to revel marbles and stones, and they got to use a hammer to break open a geode (by far the best-loved activity for the boys!)
After our trip back in time, we went downtown to wait for Dave and Jeff at the finish line. Dave rode the 109 miles in about 6 and a half hours. It was a little slower than last year, but a pretty stiff headwind didn't help matters much! We had fun cheering him on at the finish line. Jeff rode the 66 mile race this year too. The cousins barely registered their dads' accomplishments, because they were far more excited about collecting the many acorns littering the ground around the finish line. Watch out squirrels!
We drove home Sunday in order to be ready for work and school Monday. Today, Garrett's class put on a short little Thanksgiving program. They dressed up like Pilgrims and Indians and sang a few songs, then enjoyed the traditional Thanksgiving lunch of pizza and chocolate milk.(which is much more appreciated by the kindergarten set than turkey and stuffing!) Tomorrow we'll head out of town again to spend Thanksgiving day with Dave's parents. Then we'll come back Thursday night to celebrate my birthday here with my family. Whew! No wonder I can't remember much of November....
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